Minimally Invasive Treatments for Back Surgery

Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is steadily becoming the surgery of choice. When compared to traditional open surgery, the benefits are without question.

A patient choosing this new technology greatly reduces their hospital stay, experiences less pain and blood loss and also incurs up to 80% less scarring than with traditional methods. Minimally invasive treatments may soon be the norm, as older methods are discarded for this computer-assisted technology.

How is Minimally Invasive Back Surgery Performed?

• Minimally invasive surgery, also known as endoscopic surgery, uses a thin instrument called an endoscope, which is inserted through a small incision. The endoscope is connected to a very small video camera which displays the operative area onto television screens in the operating room.

  Thin surgical instruments are then inserted through one or more additional incisions. During the procedure, the surgeon looks to the television screens as he/she uses the instruments to perform the surgery. Afterward, the small incisions are stitched and covered with surgical tape. After a couple of months, they are barely visible.

What are the Benefits of Minimally Invasive Methods?

• Just a decade ago, recovery from spinal surgery could take as long as an entire year. Minimally invasive techniques have made huge advances in spine surgery. What once included a week in the hospital, a large scar and a yearlong recovery period has been diminished significantly.

  MIS benefits include: only a day or two in the hospital; reduced post-operative pain; a two- to three-month recovery period; substantially less blood loss; tiny incisions which result in almost no scarring; and possibly no anesthesia.

What Concitions Can be Treated using MIS?

• Although the field is rapidly changing, not all back problems can currently be treated by this method. The most common minimally invasive back surgeries include spinal fusion, scoliosis correction and the repair of herniated disks.

What are the Risks Involved?

• Surgery complications, such as infection, are lower than those involved in traditional open surgery. Healing of the small incisions aren't as prone to the infections that a much larger wound is in danger of, and without general anesthesia, an entire list of potential complications are erased.

  Overall, the risk factor is the same or less than traditional surgery. If you find yourself facing back surgery, minimally invasive methods should be discussed with your physician and strongly considered.